Steam iron



June 16, 1959 J, Q WAYNE 2,890,533

A STEAM IRON Filed sept. 28, 195ey y2,890,533 Patented June 16, 1959 STEAM IRON Joseph C. Wayne, Chicago, lll., assigner, by mesne assignments to Whirlpool. Corporation, a corporation of Delaware.

Application September 28,y 1956, Serial No. 612,765

ZJClaimsa (Cl. 3877) This invention relates to a steam iron.

In a common type of steam iron,A a water reservoir is positioned within the body of the iron, and valve means are provided' toA feed water a small amount at a time from this reservoir to a steam producing cham-ber in the sole plate of the iron adjacent to' the heating element. In a common type of iron, this reservoir is provided with an upwardly extending ll tube which can be located in a part of the front handle support. This fill tube is provided. with an opening sov that water can lbe introduced through the filling opening and through the ll tube into. the reservoir when additional supplies of water are required.

One of the chief disadvantages` of an iron of this type is that often water is. expelled up through the till tube and out the lling opening either when the iron is moved back and forth violently during the ironing operation or when the iron` is permitted lto standV with the switch to the heating element in the on position sothat as the water in the reservoir gets hotter and' hotter the vapor pressure on. this watery becomes sufciently great to eject slugs of'wat'er as previously described.

The present invention successfully solves Ythese diticulties by providing barriers and baflles that. permit the flow of water into the reservoir, but restrict the flow of water from the: reservoir outwardly through the ill tube and its opening.

The invention will be described as related to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. Of. the drawings:

Figure 1` is a partially broken-away side elevational view partially in section ofthe steam iron embodying, this invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional elevational View of the water reservoir taken substantially along line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional elevational view taken substantially along line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a sectional elevational view taken substantially along line 4 4 of Figure 1.

The iron shown in the accompanying drawings, except for the construction features forming the subject of this invention, is similar to the iron shown in P. J. More et al. U.S. Patent 2,744,343, dated May 8, 1956. Thus, the iron comprises a sole plate having a tubular heating element 11 embedded therein and containing a steam generator including a steam generating chamber 12 located within the sole plate. The steam generating portion and steam distributing portion of the iron are of the usual type in which water is converted to steam in one portion of the sole plate and ejected through passages in the bottom surface of the sole plate onto the material being ironed. Such steam generator and conduit systems are common to steam irons of this type and are well known to those skilled in the art.

Positioned on the top of the sole plate 10 is a closure plate 13, which operates as a closure for the steam generating chamber 12. Located above this plate 13 is a water reservoir 14 that is enclosed within a sheet metal hood 15. On top of this hood is positioned a handle 16 having a hollow front post 16a and a reark post 16b. The bottom portion 16C of the handle contains a control knob 17 for regulating the temperature of the iron. The bottom portion 16e is connected by a plurality of screws 18 to the top ofthe hood 15.

Attached to the front upper portion of the reservoir 14 and extending generally upwardly into the hollow front post 16a and exposed at the front thereof is anapparatus including a ll tube 19 provided with a bottom flange 19a rolled over to grasp tightly the marginal edge of an opening in the front upper portion of the reservoir so that the ange 19a describes a lling opening for a reservoir. The ll tube is. provided with a front wall 19b exposed at the front of the iron and containing a generally circular water inlet opening19c. This water inlet opening leads into the hollow interior 19d of the iill tube 19. In the embodiment shown, the portion of the fill tube immediately behind the inlet 19e is ared on lboth sides as indicated at 19e on opposite sides of the inlet 19C and then curved inwardly to join the interior 19a', which has a cross-sectional shape with substantially parallel sides and an arcuate rear side as shown in Figure 4. The interior of the ll tube beneath the portion 19e has a front surface 19g curved on a relatively lange radius, with this front surface being immediately beneath the inlet19c. The sides of the surface 19g extend beyond the sides. of the opening 19d so as to provide laterally projecting side groove portions 19h, as indicated in Figure 4. These side groove portions 19h are substantially parallelV to each other and sloped downwardly and rearwardly, as indi'- cated in Figure l.

lnorder to control the ow of water between the reservoir 14 and the steam chamber 12, there is providedV a valve 2d having generally the structure shown and described in the above-mentioned patent, 2,744,343. The valve Zllis mounted on an inverted essentially dish-shaped metal, stamping 21, which in turn is mounted on the closure plate 13 soas to extend. across anopening 13a therein. The valve 20, which is mounted on the stamping 21, has its bottom extending through this, opening 13a. The edge ofv the stamping 21, which is essential-ly planar, isheldon the plate by a rolled edge-part 13b.

The operating stern of. the valve 20` is in the. form. of a rotatable rod 22 extending upwardly through the reservoir 14Y and. through the illtube 19 and throughk the upper. end thereof.. In order to hold the rod 22 for rotational longitudinal movement in controlling the flow of water through the valve 20 into the steam chamber, the upper end of the till tube 19 is provided with an internally threaded opening rotatably supporting a threaded member 23 to which the rod 22 is secured. The upper end of the rod 22 beyond the member 23 is serrated longitudinally and slidably engages a similar serrated opening 24a extending through a rotatable disc 24 housed within a slot 16d in the upper front part of the handle 16. The disc 24 extends beyond the slot on the front and sides so as to be readily grasped by the hand for rotation of the disc and adjusting the rate of flow of water through the valve 2l) in the manner described in the above-mentioned patent.

When it is desired to introduce water into the reservoir 14, it is only necessary in an iron of this type to elevate the front end so that the water inlet 19C extends generally upwardly. Water can then be poured into the inlet 19C and it will flow through the interior of the fill tube and through the inlet opening of the reservoir into the reservoir itself.

In order to inhibit the accidental ejection of water from the reservoir up through the lill tube and out the inlet 19C onto the material being ironed while the iron is in use or while it is at rest with electricity owing 3 t through the heating element 11, a transverse barrier plate 25 is provided extending across the hollow interior of the ll tube beneath the inlet 19C. As is shown most clearly in Figure 4, this barrier 25 has its front end 25a contacting the interior surface 19g, a narrow rear end 25b contacting the rear curved surface, and laterally extending side portions 25C extending into the side grooves 19h of the ll tube 19.

In order to provide passages for the ow of water downwardly from the reservoir to the inlet 19C, the rear lateral sides of the plate are shaped similarly, but spaced from the corresponding side portions of the hollow interior of the lill tube 19. Thus, as shown in Figure 4, the rear edges of the barrier plate 25 from the rear edges of the side portions 25a` are spaced from the sides of the ll tube opening 19d and grooved portions 19h except for the small rear end 25h of the barrier plate. In addition, an oval opening 25d is provided in the barrier plate through which the valve operating rod 22 extends. With this arrangement, the opening 25d and the resulting side openings, indicated at 26, provide ample space for water to flow past the barrier plate into the reservoir when the reservoir is being provided with water. However, the barrier plate serves as an impediment to restrict the ilow of water in the opposite direction. This impediment or barrier is particularly effective because of the provision of the solid plate portion 25a at the front of the plate so that no opening is provided immediately beneath the till tube inlet 19C.

In order to provide an additional hindrance to the accidental ejection of water from the reservoir to the till tube 19, there is provided in the reservoir a baffle having a portion in the area adjacent to the filling opening sloped to direct flowing water in the reservoir toward the sides of the reservoir rather than toward the opening formed by the ange 19a. In the embodiment shown, this baie structure 26 includes a first baffle portion 27 extending transversely of the reservoir rearwardly of the opening formed by the ange 19a and having forwardly curved ends 27a. The bae structure also includes second and third baille portions 28 and 29 extending forwardly of the rst bafhe portion 27 substantially parallel to each other and on opposite sides of the central part of the opening 19a. The extreme forward ends of the essentially vertical baes 28 and 29 are diverging, as indicated at 28a and 29a. 'Ihe first and second baille portions 28 and 29 are joined at the rearward ends by transverse portion 30 to form a generally U-shaped structure. The transverse portion 30 is located forwardly of and substantially parallel to the central part of the lirst baffle portion 27 and has its bottom joined to the 4 bottom of this rst baille by means of a web 31 that rests on the bottom of the reservoir 14. As can be seen in Figure 1, the diverging cilds 28a and 29a are located just forwardly of the center of the bottom of the till tube 19.

The top and bottom edges of the rst baffle portion 27 are adjacent to the top and bottom of the reservoir 14. These top and bottom edges of the bale portion 27 are provided with slots 27b and 27o. These slots or openings permit the passage of water past the baille but break up sudden surges of water such as occur when the iron is propelled over the surface being ironed.

The bottom edges of the second and third baille portions 28 and 29 are spaced from the bottom of the reservoir 14. The transverse portion 30 of the baie structure is provided with a slot or cut-away portion 30a also to permit the restricted passage of water past the baie structure.

Having described my invention as related to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is my intention that the invention be not limited to any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A steam iron, comprising: a water reservoir having a water inlet therein; an open ll tube extending upwardly from said inlet having a front wall and side walls and having a permanently open ill opening in the front wall of the ll tube; and a transverse barrier in the fill tube having a front edge engaging the lill tube front wall directly beneath the lill opening and side edges spaced from the side walls of the ll tube so as to provide a passageway from the ll opening to the reservoir.

2.The steam iron of claim l wherein the interior of the ll tube in the region of the barrier directly beneath the ll opening has a transversely widened portion and the barrier is similarly transversely widened to be substantially coextensive with said widened portion of the ll tube.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

